Computers have enhanced the way traditional board games can be played. For example, games such as Monopoly™, Battleship™ and Scrabble™, as well as almost any other board game, have been adapted so that a single user can download the game to a personal computer and play the game against virtual opponents. Such downloadable games offer one the convenience of being able to enjoy a board game any time recreation is desired without having to depend on the presence of others. Computerized board games also allow one to enhance one's skills at playing the board game with minimal resources. Additionally, such board games may also be played online, where one's opponents are either virtual players or live players at remote locations. Playing online against remote opponents offers all the benefits of playing a downloadable version of the game against virtual opponents but removes the potential predictability of algorithmic play inherent in the downloadable games. However, despite the benefits that this type of computerization of board games offers, those desiring human interaction are not benefited by using a computer to enhance a board game by playing against virtual or online opponents.
Computers have also been used in conjunction with one or more cameras to enhance board game play. For example, United States Patent Application number US2003/0236113, by Webb, for “Game Playing Apparatus” discloses a game playing structure onto which cards may be dealt by a dealer standing at a table. An imaging device is used to create an image signal representative of dealt cards, whether the cards are dealt face up or face down, and a player terminal in communication with the imaging device allows a remote player to play using the terminal. Thus, a player may play a “live” card game at a remote location with players standing at the card table or with players at other remote locations, including placing bets and sending other playing instructions through the terminal. The imaging may be performed by visual means or by non-visual means, such as a bar code or a magnetic sensor. The described apparatus may also keep statistics, such as might be used to facilitate wagering. This invention disclosed by Webb requires recognition of information on the card or playing marker. U.S. Pat. No. 7,404,765, issued to Soltys, et al., for “Determining Gaming Information” discloses a method and an apparatus for determining wagers by using a camera and image recognition to recognize the denominations of betting chips as marked by color transitions on the chips. This invention, disclosed by Soltys, et al. requires recognition of the specific markings on a playing marker.
United States Patent Application number US2003/0062675, by Noro, et al., for “Image Experiencing System and Information Processing Method” discloses an apparatus and method for using a camera to determine position and direction information representing the view of a player with respect to a game board and to generate computer graphics based on the items on the game board for display on a head-mounted display superimposed on the game board. This invention to Noro, et al., requires playing piece recognition.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,156, issued to Weiner, et al., for “Physical Object Location Apparatus and Method and a Graphic Display Device Using the Same” discloses a method and a device for detecting and recognizing physical objects, such as playing pieces on a game board or graphic display, wherein the playing pieces each have a detectable identifier in the form of electronic circuitry. The inventors therein recognize that this invention requires each playing piece to have an independent power source and that dirt may obscure the sensors on the individual playing pieces.
United States Patent Application number US2002/0006820, by Romero, for “Assembly for Playing a Variation of the Game of Baccarat” discloses a baccarat table enhanced by one or more camera assemblies, each coupled to an optical scanning device, that electronically determine the total number count of at least the first two cards of each of the player's hands. Similarly, United Kingdom Patent Application number GB 2,429,929, by Elliot, for “Card Game Playing Apparatus” discloses an invention for playing cards using a live dealer and some remote players communicating via a network such as the internet. Each card carries a machine readable code and each station where cards are dealt has a code reader, and cameras are used to transmit information describing the card as well as images of the faces of other players. These inventions require identification of the playing cards and the markings thereon.
All the inventions described thus far require recognition of playing markers or cards or some characteristic unique to an individual playing marker or card. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,401,783, issued to Pryor, for “Camera Based Man Machine Interfaces” discloses “methods and apparatus for data communication with respect to people and computers using optically inputted information from specialized datum's (sic) on objects and/or natural features of objects.” In this patent, a television camera captures game play and provides input to a separate computer. However, disadvantageously, the television camera must be calibrated prior to game play by observing the corners of the game board to establish a reference coordinate system to track markers. An operator must know where to mount the camera and skillfully place the camera directly overhead of the game board, which is a tedious and time-consuming process that distracts from the enjoyment of the game. Further, the entire room is dedicated to accommodate camera focal lengths, illumination and clearance for players. Once the setup is completed, the game board cannot be moved relative to the camera. The players must be sensitive to the placement of the game board because the camera will likely need recalibration if the game board is displaced, which is inevitable during game play. This concern also distracts from the enjoyment of the game. Dismounting the television camera after the game is also a tedious and time-consuming process.
Besides using cameras, electronics have also been used to add excitement and ease of play to board games by using an animated character and a synthesized voice to provide guided play. U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,678, issued to Terzian, et al., for “Electronic Game with Animated Host” discloses a robotic animated character as part of a game assembly that uses a synthesized voice to simulate a game show.
Also note that Capper et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,078 and 5,521,616 for “Control interface apparatus” disclose a control interface apparatus which provides a plurality of signal transceivers which may allow a participating player to interactively play a video boxing game with a video character. The Capper et al. apparatus is infrared sensor based, and may be used as a controller interface for use with a video game machine.
The prior art discussed thus far involves either optical recognition of the characteristics of game pieces or of playing cards, the use of a robotic game host with a synthesized voice, or infrared sensor based video game control interfaces. The processes involved in creating and utilizing the software involved in the optical scanning described above can be expensive and complicated and not easily adaptable to modular use with several different games because the optical recognition software and hardware must be created to specifically detect certain characteristics of playing markers and must have certain tolerances for detecting the characteristics while the playing markers are in different positions or even moving.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have the benefits of using video technology and a synthesized voice for assisted game play without the expense and complications inherent in specific playing marker recognition. This can be accomplished by configuring a mirror, an optical sensor, and various software modules to recognize defined areas on a game board and by measuring changes in the intensity of light reflecting off of those defined areas. This type of design yields a simple, robust, self-aligning, easy to assemble apparatus and method for providing guided game play and more complexity and flexibility in the number of games and software modules that may be used with a single device. The inventions discussed in connection with the described embodiment address these and other deficiencies of the prior art.
The features and advantages of the present inventions will be explained in or apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment considered together with the accompanying drawings.